NJ Appellate Law Blog – NJ Appellate Lawyer Bruce D. Greenberg blogs about Appeals and Appellate Law Practice

Either Side of July 4

With July 4 falling on a Tuesday, some of us took the opportunity to extend the preceding weekend into some or all of the last days of June, July 3,...

New Leadership for the Appellate Division

With Chief Judge Messano reaching mandatory retirement age on May 23, Chief Justice Rabner announced that Judge Sumners will become Chief Judge of the Appellate Division as of that date....

The West Orange Library Site is Not "In Need of Redevelopment"

Malanga v. Township of West Orange, 253 N.J. 291 (2023). The Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq. ("LHRL"), allows a municipality to declare a property "in need...

The Last Half of February in the Supreme Court

Preparation for a big Appellate Division argument at the end of February limited my ability to post for a period of time. But our courts were busy during that time....

Two Supreme Court Opinions in Criminal Cases

State v. Canfield, 252 N.J. 497 (2023). Today, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed, in large part, the 137-page opinion of the Appellate Division in this case, which was summarized here....

Two by Justice Albin

Fowler v. Akzo Nobel Chemicals, Inc., 251 N.J. 300 (2022); Linden Democratic Committee v. City of Linden, 251 N.J. 415 (2022). As Justice Albin's tenure on the Supreme Court nears...

A Potential Change to the Permanent Disbarment Rule of State v. Wilson?

In re Wade, 250 N.J. 581 (2022). In In re Wilson, 81 N.J. 451 (1979), the Supreme Court established a bright line rule that attorneys who knowingly misappropriate client funds...

Lessons for Police in the Miranda Warnings Context, From Chief Justice Rabner

State v. O.D.A.-C., ___N.J. ___ (2022). Everyone knows, even if only from watching police procedurals on television, about the warnings that Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), requires police...

Grapes Turn Sour for "Mode of Operation" Plaintiff

Jeter v. Sam's Club, ___ N.J. ___ (2022). Writing for a 4-2 majority, Justice Solomon began his opinion for the Court today as follows: "Under the ‘mode of operation' rule,...

The Balancing Test for the Common Law Right of Access to Public Records

Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor's Office, ___ N.J. ___ (2022). Employees of the Elizabeth Police Department complained to the Union County Prosecutor's Office that the Police Director, James Cosgrove, had...

1 234…Last

"Hot Fun in the Summertime": Appellate Division Summer Parts

In an Order available here, Chief Justice Rabner announced the lineup for the Appellate Division's summer Parts. As has been customary, the "summer" runs not between the meteorological start and end dates for summer, nor from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but from June 16 through September 7....

The Supreme Court Confirms That Municipalities Can be Subjected to Sanctions for Frivolous Litigation

Borough of Englewood Cliffs v. Trautner, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This appeal presented the question of whether municipalities can be liable to pay sanctions for frivolous litigation, under the Frivolous Litigation Statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-59.1 ("the FLS"). In a 5-0 opinion written by Justice Fasciale (Chief Justice Rabner and Justice Hoffman did not participate), the Court affirmed, as modified, the decision of the Appellate Division that upheld the Law Division's imposition of FLS sanctions against the Borough....

The "Castle Doctrine"

State v. Bragg, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). A jury found defendant guilty of twelve charged counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering, and two lesser-included offenses of harassment. Some of those charges involved the use of deadly force. Persons may not use deadly force if the can retreat with complete safety. But under the "castle doctrine," an exception to the general rule, a person "is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling, unless he was the initial aggressor." N.J.S.A. 2C:3-4(b)(2)(b)(i). That doctrine derives from the common law....

No Arbitrariness in Rejection of Public Construction Bid That Failed to Include a Properly Signed, Required Consent of Surety

In the Matter of Protest Filed by El Sol Contracting and Construction Corp., Contract T100.638, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This public bidding case resulted in a 5-2 split at the Supreme Court, the first non-unanimous ruling of the current Term. Justice Hoffman wrote the majority opinion, while Justice Fasciale authored the dissent for himself and Justice Pierre-Louis....